Lopers Pick Up Sweep Over Missouri Western

Lopers Pick Up Sweep Over Missouri Western
January 29th, 2023 | Peter Yazvac

Kearney, Neb. – Redshirt junior reserve wing Meg Burns scored a career-high 15 points and No. 13/19 Nebraska Kearney sunk 15 threes to demolish No. 26/30 Missouri Western State, 91-55, Saturday afternoon at the Health & Sports Center.

The Lopers (20-3, 13-2) reach the 20-win mark for the 21st time in school history and record a 14th consecutive home victory. Meanwhile, MWSU (18-5, 12-3) sees an 11-game win streak come to an end.

“We obviously played extremely well. They started out in a zone and it was important for us to be able to stretch that zone and hit some shots,” said Loper head coach Carrie Eighmey. “We did a great job of attacking it which gave us open shots and we knocked those down. Defensively, we were really good and paid attention to the details and scout.”

UNK had arguably its finest quarter in a long while when it blitzed the Griffs by a 28-8 margin over the first 10 minutes. The Lopers made 11 of 17 shots including a 5 of 8 effort from downtown. Burns (Ankeny, Ia.) hit two of the triples, as well as converting two layups, with the always stingy defense limiting the Griffs to 4 of 15 shooting (0 of 4 threes).

While MWSU scored the first eight points of the second quarter, Kearney got the lead back to 20 and then outscored the Griffs by a 22-8 margin in the third quarter. The 91 points is the second most in regulation vs. a MIAA foe (93 vs. Southwest Baptist, 2017) with the 15 threes a new program record in a MIAA game. The 2017 Lopers made 13 in a win over Lindenwood. Finally, the 36-point margin of victory is the second most in a MIAA contest; UNK beat Rogers State by 37 points on December 1.

“We shot the ball really, really well and one of the reasons is because we did a great job of working to get good shots. Very quality shots,” said Eighmey. “That’s good execution, passing and attention to detail. When you take great shots, you have a better chance of making them.”

Burns hit 6 of 7 shots (3 of 3 threes) over 26 minutes to reach her point total. Her previous high of 11 came two years ago at Rogers State. She also played solid defense and filled in for an injured Trinity Law (Brandon, S.D.).

“Meg was huge for us. She stretches the floor because she shoots the three so well. She also read the defense well today and got some drives to the rim,” said Eighmey. “When Trinity went out, she was guarding (MWSU leading scorer Brionna Budgetts). Meg came in and did a really, really good job defensively on her.”

Six different Lopers hit a three with South Dakota super senior Klaire Kirsch a team-best 4 for 4. She finished with 14 points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals with classmate Elisa Backes (Salina, Kan.) at 15 points, five boards, three dimes and career block 149. She went 3 of 5 from behind the arc. Finally, Iowa redshirt junior forward Shiloh McCool (16) was a force the paint with Iowa point guard Sarah Schmitt close to a double double (nine points, seven assists). As a team, UNK shot a season-best 61 percent, was plus 11 on the glass and forced 14 turnovers.

“Our seasoned veterans understand how important it is to protect your home floor,” said Eighmey.
MWSU, a bit under weather, saw Budgetts (19.0 ppg) play only 10:29 and none in the second half. Starting guards Johnni Gonzalez (11) and Connie Clarke (13) combined for 24 with forward Trinity Knapp at 11 points and a board. The Lopers head to Central Oklahoma and Newman next weekend.

Kearney, Neb. – Super senior forward Darrian Nebeker scored a game-high 23 points and senior forward Winston Cook added 20 off the bench to help Nebraska Kearney beat Missouri Western State, 85-75, Saturday evening at the Health & Sports Center.

The Lopers (4-16, 2-12) pick up its second league win of the year while the Griffons (8-12, 4-9) drop a sixth straight game. These two are scheduled to play a make-up contest in St. Joseph on Monday, Feb. 27. The original date in St. Joe (Dec. 8) was postponed due to COVID issues with the MWSU program.

UNK fell behind 22-14 eight minutes in but closed the half on a 27-9 run and never looked back. Nebeker (West Jordan, Utah) had 12 first half points, Cook (Wahoo) added 10 and Ryder Kirsch (Rapid City, S.D.) and Tom Connelly (Denver) grabbed seven rebounds apiece.

“I was disappointed the way we performed Thursday (vs. No 7 NW Missouri). You look at the games before that and we were a team that was about to turn the corner and much better than our record indicates,” said UNK head coach Kevin Lofton. “We got off to a slow start today but our team had some composure, fought back and guys really stepped up.”

The Loper lead grew to 53-36 about five minutes into the second half but Mo West hung around thanks to some hot shooting and a full-court press that created several fast break opportunities. The Griffs got the deficit down to eight on five separate occasions, but UNK always had a response. The last came with 2:05 to play when Connelly sunk a corner three to make it 80-69. He ended up with his first career double double (10 points & 11 rebounds). 

“I thought we could’ve been a little sharper (handling the press). Early on they hit us with it but we found our composure,” said Lofton. “Toward the end we started to break it a little easier.”

Nebeker finished two points shy of tying his career-high and reached 20 points for the fourth time this winter. He went 10 of 14 (1 of 3 threes) from the field while also having five rebounds, three assists, a steal and block. A third-year Loper, he’s now up to 893 career points (1,344 in college).

“You can’t take him for granted. He has a great attitude and tries to be a leader,” said Lofton. “Darrian is versatile player .. he can hit the three, he can get to the basket, he can post. I’m hoping we can finish these last eight games strong for him.”

Cook attacked the basket to the tune of 8 of 9 shooting. Reaching double figures for the sixth time this season, he also sunk 4 of 5 free throws to be two points shy of tying his career-high.

“Winston gives that kind of performance every day in practice. He’s had snippets of that in games throughout the season … we desperately need that effort today,” said Lofton.  

UNK out shot MWSU by 13 points, 54-41, and also was plus five on the glass. Kirsch (12) led the board work with guard Jaleque Dunson (Sioux City, Ia.) having a team-best six assists. Finally, guard Sean Evans (Parker, Colo.) continued a recent hot stretch by going for 18 points and four assists.

Six-four wing Taye Fields had another big effort against UNK (20 points, 11 rebounds) with fellow starters Julius Dixon (18) and JaRon Thames (14) also reaching double digits in points.

The Lopers head to nationally-ranked Central Oklahoma (19-2, 13-2) on Thursday night.
 
 

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